“Gladly, the cross-eyed bear” is a mondegreen of the underlined phrase from this famous hymn:
Keep Thou my way, O Lord, be Thou ever nigh;
Strong is Thy mighty arm, weak and frail am I;
Then, my unchanging Friend, on Thee, my hopes depend,
Till life’s brief day shall end, be Thou ever nigh.
Keep Thou my heart, O Lord, ever close to Thee;
Safe in Thine arms of love, shall my refuge be;
Then, over a tranquil tide, my bark shall safely glide;
I shall be satisfied, ever close to Thee.
Keep Thou my all, O Lord, hide my life in Thine;
O let Thy sacred light over my pathway shine;
Kept by Thy tender care, gladly the cross I’ll bear;
Hear Thou and grant my prayer, hide my life in Thine.
NOW it's clear! Thanks to you and Mad Dawg
I loved to use old hymns as a kind of cloz test for Englishk students in Taiwan and Mainland China.
They are edifying material and slow and easy to hear clearly.
One time in China, I used Amazing Grace.
One valiant student wrote
Through many dangers toilets and snails
I have already come
for
Through many dangers toils and snares
I have already come.
I loved it.